Then, he continued on to Japan, where he spent two and a half weeks teaching students at Musashino Art University. "When I was starting off, I didn't have any help. [Karl Lagerfeld] was the only designer in Paris who was making hats. So I'm quite pleased to be able to help people," Jones told ELLE.com yesterday, fresh off the plane from Tokyo. "I'm always fascinated by what [the students] have to offer, because they're in their 20s, I'm 56, so their point of view is very different from mine."

ELLE: You and Philip Treacy are the fashion industry's two top millinery go-tos, and you're both U.K.-born. Why do you think it worked out that way?

Stephen Jones: I think it's because we wear hats for weddings here, and for the races. So that whole [millinery] tradition has been kept alive.

ELLE: You mention the races—have you ever been to the Kentucky Derby, which is coming up soon?

SJ: No, I haven't, and I really, really want to go. It's just before the cruise collections in Paris, so I'm going to be in Monaco working on Dior. But I always look at pictures of it.

ELLE: Are you excited about The Great Gatsby? It looks like there are so many great headpieces in it.

SJ: I can't wait to see it. I actually saw some of the sketches that Prada did for the clothes. I think it's going to be amazing, and a real influence on fashion, too.

ELLE: We read that your head is sample size. Do you design on your own head?

SJ: Yeah, I always try on things to see if they're comfortable and if they're balanced. I never really think, "Do they suit me?" I normally try it on a pretty girl for that. But it's good to know if the hat's too heavy on one side and going to fall off.

SJ: Yeah, I think it's really great for the students, and they're lucky. They will really learn a lot from John—the way he creates things and his experience in the fashion business. I think he will learn from them, too. Because that's the thing I've found about teaching, it actually works both ways.

ELLE: You've worked with a wide range of clients; how is designing for someone like Marc Jacobs different than designing for someone like Beyoncé, for instance?

SJ: It's the same, really. You have to understand how it's going to be worn and where it's going to be worn, why it's going to be worn.

ELLE: Beanies have been super popular in street style recently. Are you seeing any new silhouette emerging for spring?

SJ: The beanie thing really came from the beanies that I did with Raf Simons at Jil Sander, which was for Summer 2012. Certainly those have bred the revival. I think the beanie's going to be around for a while, just because it's so easy to wear. I'm seeing a lot of scarves being tied on heads and things like that here in London for spring. Bandanas that have just been knotted around the head.